| No Rank | Air Force Airman BasicE-1 Enlisted Airman, U.S. Air Force |
|
Air Force Ranks » Airman Basic Rank • AB Pay • AB Rank History
History of the Air Force Airman Basic Rank
A Airman Basic is a Enlisted Airman in the United States Air Force at DoD paygrade E-1.
The airman basic rank is a derivative of the Air Force’s split from the Army. While the Air Force adopted the Army’s officer ranks, upper leadership decided that the title of “private†was not fitting for its enlisted force. Hence the “airman†title was formulated.
Want to learn more? Read about the Air Force's Airman Basic rank on Military-Ranks.org.
History of the Air Force
The Air Force was founded in 1947, just after WWII. It was created using most of the existing Army Air Corps that had just made significant contributions to the war effort. The Air Force is the most technological of the branches, as well as the "most business-like" (least strict). There is a general concensus in the military that quality of life for servicemembers in the Air Force is highest. Just as the Army fights land wars and the Navy fights sea wars, the Air Force was originally envisioned to fight air wars. While wars in the past 70 years couldn't be fought with aircraft alone, the age of Drones and Artificial Intelligence may cause a paradigm shift where air-only wars are possible.